Wire-stretcher.



No. 658,402. Patented Sept. 25, I900. J. M. RUBART.

WIRE STRETCHER.

(Application filed Nov. 29, 1899.)

(No Model.)

| wens co., Moro-Luna. wasumcmn, n cy NHED STAT S PATENT OFFICE.

JASPER MILTON RUBAB'T, or URBANA, OHIO.

WIRE-STRETCH ER.

SPECIFICATION forming art Of Letters Patent 'No. 658,402, dated. Setember 2 5, 1900.

Application filed November 29, 1899; Serial No. 738,718- KNO model.)

To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that LJAsrun MILTON RUBART, a citizen of the United States,residing at Urbana, in the county of Ohampaign and State of Ohio, havein vented anew and useful Wire- Stretcher, of which the following isaspecification.

This invention relates to wire-stretchers, and is primarily designed toprovide a clamp IQ for application to mesh or woven-wire fabrics orfencing, so that a firm connection may be had between any ordinarystretcher or tension device and the fencing. It is furthermore designedto provide an adjustable do- I vice, so as to accommodate the latter todifferent styles of fencing and to wires of different sizes; also, toprovide means for securely connecting the clamp to the fencing and atthe same time permitting of the convenient and ready removal of thedevice, and finally to provide means for connecting the clamp to astretcher or tension device, so that an evenly-balanced strain may beplaced upon the fencing. To these ends the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully de-- scribed,shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit orsacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side eleva-' tion of the device appliedto a portion of fencing. Fig. 2isavertical longitudinal sectional viewthereof. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line cc :0of Fig. 2. Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of the device.

Corresponding parts in the several figures of the drawings aredesignated by like characters of reference.

5 Referring to the accompanying drawings, 1 and 2 designate the oppositemembers of the clamp and are formed of wood. Each memher issubstantially rectangular in cross-section, as best shown in Fig; 3, andboth members being of equal length and of a size to accommodate thegreatest width of fencing. The lower ends of the members are hingedlyconnected by means of an adjustable hinge comprising a fixed member 3,formed from a single length of strap metal secured to the outer face ofthe member 3 and bent inwardly across the lower end thereof and securedthereto by means of suitable fasteuings 4, as clearly shown in Figs. 2and 4 of the drawings. The lower inner end of the strap is bent backwardupon itself and secured between the latter and the adjacent end of themember, and is furthermore provided with a 1011- gitudinal slot 5,thereby forming opposite eyes 6. Secured to the outer side of the othermember 2 is a metallic plate 7, the lower end of which projects beyondthe lower end of the member and is provided with an opening 8, alinedtransversely with the bifurcation in the other hinged member. 'Fit- 7oted in the opening in the plate 7 is an eyebolt 9, having a suitable nut10 bearing against the outer face of the plate 7 and having its eye 11located within the bifurcation 5 and alined with the opposite eyes 6 ofthe hinge member 3. Passing through the opposite eyes 6 and the eye 11of the bolt 9 is a pivotpin 12, which is provided at one end with a hook13, the opposite projecting end being threaded and provided with a nut14, forming a stop-shoulder to prevent longitudinal displacement of thepin. A guide-plate} 5 is secured to the lower end of the member 1opposite the hooked end of the pivot-pin 12 and is provided witha'pendent perforate car 16, projecting below the lower end of the deviceand receiving the threaded projecting end of the pivot-pin. It will thusbe apparent that the members are hingedly connected together and arecapable of being thrown open or separated upon the pivot-pin 12 as acenter, so as to receive the fencing laterally between the members. Itwill be understood that the nut 10 is intended to adjust the position ofthe member 2 upon the eyebolt 9, so as to 5 vary the distance betweenthe two members of the clamp for the purpose of accommodating the latterto fencing of diderent types and to wires of different sizes. As shownin ing across the lower portion of the slot is a form of stretcher ortension device maybe emplate 19, suitably secured to the outer side ofthe member. Located in the inner face of the other member 1 is a socketor recess 20, communicating with the inner end of the slot 18, and 21designates a perforation or open ing communicating from the outer sideof the member 1 to the back of the socket or recess 20. Located in thesocket is acatch 22, which extends into the slot 18 and projects at theouter end thereof and is also provided in its under edge with aplurality of notches 23,. forming catch-heads for engagement with theplate or keeper 19, so as trr-secure the members upon the fencing.Projecting through the perforation 21 is a screw-threaded pin or shank24, having its innerend located within the socket 20 and provided with alongitudinal bifurcation 25, in which is received the inner end of thecatch 22, loosely connected to the pin or shank by means of a transversepivot-pin 26. Fitted to the outer projecting end of the threaded shankor pin 24 is a suitable clamping-nut 27, having an operating handle 28,whereby the catch may be drawn tightly against the keeper 19 for holdingthe members in their clam ped position. It is preferable to interpose asuitable wear-plate 29 between the nut 27 and the adjacent outer side ofthe member 1, so as to protect the latter against the wearing action ofthe nut.

At the upper end of the clamp there is provided a collar or band 30,which embraces the members and rests upon suitable pins or shoulders 31,carried by each of the members- It will be understood that this collaror band is removable, so as to permit of the separation of thehingedly-connected members. A single length of chain 32 has its oppositeends connected to the collar or band 30 and to the hook end of thepivot-pin 12 at the opposite end of the device, respectively, andconnected to an intermediate portion of the same is another chain 33 forengagement with asuitable stretching or tension device.

In the operation of the device, the collar or band 30 being removed, themembers are opened or separated, so as to receive a portion of fencing34t,as indicated in Fig. 1 of the drawin gs, after which the members areclosed upon the fencing, the catch 22 being engaged with the keeper 19,and finally the members are clampedtightly upon the fencing by adjustment of the nut 27. The collar or band 30 is then fitted to the upperends of the members and the opposite ends of the chain 32 are engagedwith the band and the hooked end of the pivot-pin 12, respectively. Bythis arrangement of the chain it will be seen that the chain-section 33is located midway between the upper and lower ends of the clamp, so thatwhen the stretcher or tension device is operated the strain will beevenly balanced upon the clamp and the fencing, and the former providesa firm connection between the fencing and the tension device. It will beunderstood that any suitable or preferred ployed, and therefore it hasnot been deemed necessary to illustrate thesame. Should the fencing beas wide as the length of the members l and 2, the catch 22 is insertedthrough one of the meshes of the fencing, whereby the entire width ofthe latter may be firmly clamped between the members.

As illustrated in Fig. 3, it will be seen that the inner contiguousfacesof the clamp members are provided with wear-plates 35 and 36,

each plate being let into the face of the respective member, but notflush therewith, and

are only half as wide as the member. Also the opposite edges of thesemetallic plates are comparatively sharp, so as to bind tightly upon thefencing and prevent the device from slipping thereon.

What I claim is 1. A device of the class described, comprising oppositemembers hingedly connected at one end, a detachable band locatedopposite the hinged end of the members, means for clamping the lattertogether, a chain or the like having its opposite endsconnected to thehinged end of the device and to the band, respectively, and a connectionlocated at an intermediate point of the chain and for application to atension device.

2. In adevice of the class described, the

combination with a pair of members, of a plate provided upon one of themembers, a threaded eyebolt passing through the plate, and having anadjustingnut bearing against the outer side of the plate, opposite eyesprovided upon the other member, and receiving the eye of the bolttherebetween, a pivot-pin passing through the eyes and the eye of thebolt, and a connection for application to a tension device.

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pair ofmembers, of a hinge-plate carried by one of the members, a guide-platecarried by the same member and overlapping the other member, a threadedeyebolt passing loosely through the latter member, an adj listing-nutprovided upon the bolt and engaging the outer side of the member, atransverse pivot-pin hingedly connect, ing the bolt to the hinge-plate,means for clamping the members together, and a connection forapplication to a tension device.

4. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of members, havinga hinged connection at one end thereof, the pivot-pin of the hinge beingprovided with a hook located exteriorly of the members, a detachableband located at the opposite end of the device, a chain having itsopposite ends respectively connected to the hook and tothe band, meansfor clamping the members together, and a. connection for application toa tension device.

5. In a device of the class described, the combination with a pair ofmembers, of a plate fitted to one end of one of the members, said platebeing bent upon itself into a loop, and provided with a slotintersecting the loop, a

IIO

plate fitted to the other memberand projecting beyond the end thereof,an eyebolt passing loosely through the projecting end of the plate, theeye of the bolt being located in the bifurcation of the looped plate, atransverse pivot-pin passing through the loop and the eye of theeyebolt, an adj listing-nut provided upon the outer projecting end ofthe eyebolt and engaging against the adjacent member, means-for clampingthe members together, and a connection for application to a tensiondevice.

6. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of pivotally orhingedly connected members, a clamping device, consisting of a latch, athreaded stem pivotally connected to the latch and passing looselythrough one of the members, an adjusting-nut provided upon the stem andbearing against one side of the member, a keeper provided upon the othermember and for engagement with the latch, and a connection forapplication to a tension device.

7. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of pivotally orhingedly connected members, one of the latter being provided with arecess or socket in its inner face, a latch located Within the socketand projectin g through the open end thereof, a threaded stem pivotallyconnected to the inner end of the latch and passing loosely through themember, an adj usting-nut provided upon the projecting end of the stem,the other member being provided with a slot receiving the outer end ofthe latch, a plate extending across one end of the slot, and forming akeeper for engagement with the latch, and a connection for applicationto a tension device.

8. A device of the class described, comprising hingedly-connectedmembers, a removable band or collar embracing the members and located atthe opposite end from the hinge connection thereof, pins or shoulderscarried by each member and supporting the band or collar, and a chain orthe like having its opposite ends connected to the band and to theopposite end of the device, respectively.

9. A device of the class described, comprising a pair of opposite clampmembers, clamping means therefor, Wear-plates secured to the inner facesof the respective members, located at opposite sides of the device, andprojecting outwardly from the adjacent inner faces, and means forconnection with a tension device.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

JASPER MILTON RUBART.

